January 8, 2008
Just a normal 65-degree evening in January as the Knights entered the Owls’ nest at Mt. Healthy High School on Tuesday evening. Mt. Healthy will soon be building a new high school so this was in all probability the last visit to this gym. Nice photos in the trophy case from when Coach Grunkemeyer was the Head Coach at Mt. Healthy and led the Owls to State.
The Knights, as is their normal custom, jumped out to an early lead of 13-5 in the first quarter with Spencer Berlekamp and Kevin Hopperton each knocking down two quick buckets. Both teams rolled Lucky Sevens in the next frame and went to the halftime break with the Knights leading 20-12. The visitors widened their advantage to 33-21 by the end of the third quarter. However, the Owls were not ready to concede this contest and narrowed the deficit to six. However, a key steal by Michael Olds, two free throws by Andrew Winebrenner, a bucket by Nick Shackelford and stellar defense by the Knights in the final 2 minutes allowed the Kings to come out victorious, 40-27.
Spencer Berlekamp led the Knight scoring with 9. Matt Rumelhart and Nick Shackelford knocked down 8 apiece. Phil Fox and Kevin Hopperton each tossed in 4. Tyler Smyth drained a three for his only points of the evening while Andrew Winebrenner tossed in the two free throws to round out the scoring for the Knights. Kings also took several charges in a strong defensive effort. It looks like Coach Poggi will be handing out some milkshakes this week. Mt. Healthy connected on 3 of 6 chances (50%) from the Charity Stripe while the Knights struggled in completing 4 of 13 for 31%.
The victory brought the Knights season record to 10-1. They will step back into league play when the Eagles of Walnut Hills visit the K-House on Friday evening. Walnut Hills handed the Knights their only loss, 47-44, earlier in the season. The Knights will look to improve on their 4-1 conference record as they begin their second trip through the FAVCC. Tip off will be at 6PM. Go Knights!
- Scooter Knight
January 4, 2008
The Knights opened the New Year with a battle against the Panthers from Little Miami at the K-House on Friday night. For all of those in attendance, it was another classic Kings – Little Miami game that will be talked about for many years to come.
The Knights pulled out to an early 11-5 lead in the opening quarter. Kings continued to widen that margin and took a comfortable 25-8 advantage to the locker room at half time. The Knights didn’t show any signs of stopping as they increased their lead to 32-10 in the first two minutes of the third quarter. Little did Knight fans, coaches or even players realize how unbelievable the next 12 minutes of action would be. Perhaps the Knights were already thinking about what they would be feasting on at the post game dinner. However, the Panthers weren’t ready to load their buses quite yet. The Knights shooting suddenly went ice cold and the Panthers went on a 10-0 run to pull to within 12 at 32-20 at the conclusion of the third quarter. Unfortunately, the fourth quarter brought no relief as the Panthers continued to hold the Knights scoreless while going on an 11-0 run which was capped off by a fall-away three from deep in the corner that brought the Panthers to within one point at 32-31 with 28 seconds remaining on the clock. This brought a time out by the Knights.
During the time out, one of the Knight cheerleaders entertained the crowd by doing a series of back flips down the court. Unfortunately, she didn’t quite measure those flips out and she was finally stopped by the wall at the opposite end of the court. Just like the Knight offense in the second half, she had hit the wall. All reports say the Knight cheerleader was fine. The Knights returned to the court to determine if they would be. Phil Fox was fouled with 22 seconds remaining and sank both free throws to increase the Knight lead to 34-31. The Knight Defense rose to the occasion in the final seconds and the Knights came away with the victory.
Phil Fox led the Knight scoring with 10 points. Michael Olds dropped in 6 while Spencer Berlekamp and Tyler Smyth each tossed in 5. Kevin Hopperton chipped in 4. Matt Rumelhart and Andrew Winebrener rounded out the Knight scoring with 2 points apiece. The scoring was close to the basket as there was only one three point shot made during the contest. Kings finished 8 out of 10 from the free throw line (80%) while the Panthers connected on 4 of their 6 chances for a 67% percentage. The final game of the season will find the Knights visiting the Panthers home court on February 8th. Which Knight and Panther teams, the first half or the second half, will show up that night?
The victory brought the Knights season record to 9-1 and conference record to 4-1. The Knights will step out of FAVC Cardinal Division play on Tuesday evening when they visit Scarlett Division foe Mt. Healthy. Tip off will be at 6PM. Go Knights!
- Scooter Knight
December 27, 2007
The “Jackson Express” pulled away from Kings High School just a little after 4:00 this afternoon to travel to Southeastern Ohio. An hour and 45 minutes later, after watching the “We Are Marshall” DVD, the Knights arrived at Jackson High School, best known as the alma mater of Coach Stevens. Everyone was impressed with Jackson’s new high school building, which includes a nice gym and a separate auxiliary field house with 3 full sized courts. Is there still time to throw that into the renovation plans at Kings High School?
Jackson’s conference has 6 minute quarters for JV games and uses a three man refereeing crew. The Ironmen jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead for their lone highlight of the first quarter. The Knights answered that by running off 16 straight points. Spencer Berlekamp had three “and-one” opportunities in the first quarter alone as the Knights put this game away early at 16-1. The Knights continued to dominate defensively in the second quarter, by holding the Ironmen scoreless until the 2:24 mark when they scored their first field goal of the contest. The teams retired to their respective locker rooms with the Knights holding a commanding 26-5 lead. The Knights didn’t slack off in the third quarter as their strong defense held the Ironmen to 4 points and widened the lead to 41-9. The only question of the final quarter was how much the margin of victory would be as Jackson put four freshmen into the game. They finally hit double digits at the 3 minute mark, but it was not enough as the Knights won easily, 50-10.
Spencer Berlekamp topped all scorers with 15 points. Stephen Boster accounted for 7. Alec Sadowski and Kevin Hopperton each chipped in 6. Brooks Gear and Tyler Smyth tossed in 5 each. Phil Fox tickled the nets for 3 and Michael Olds rounded out the Knight scoring with 2. The Knights finished 4 for 9 from the Charity Stripe (44%) and the Ironmen were 2 for 8 (25%). The Knight’s scoring included 6 buckets from behind the 3-point line. Brian Howell was not available due to an injury, while Matt Rumelhart and Hunter Jones were out of town for family commitments. Nicholas and Davis Jenkins provided a double dose of coverage as ball boys.
After feasting on Subways and watching the varsity game, the Knights journeyed back to Warren County via the Jackson Express. A basketball DVD entertained the traveling party on the trip home before arriving at KHS shortly after 11:30 PM to conclude a memorable afternoon/evening of Knight Basketball.
The victory brought the Knights season record to 8-1 as they close out the 2007 part of the season and prepare for 2008. They will take a few days off before getting back to practice on Monday in preparation for their next opponent. Backyard rival Little Miami will visit the K-House, on Friday night, as the Knights put their 3-1 FAVCC record on the line. Tip off will be at 6PM. Go Knights!
- Scooter Knight
December 21, 2007
Final Exams were the focus for the Knights this week even to the extent that Coach Poggi gave the team a rare night off on Tuesday evening to prepare for their exams. The student-athletes finished their finals in the classrooms earlier today, but the Knights still had one more test to complete they headed up I-71 to Wilmington to take on the Hurricane.
Both teams struggled to find their shooting eye in the opening quarter as many shots were taken, but not many connected, and Wilmington jumped out to an 8-6 lead. The Knights found the answer key to their offense in the second quarter as they outscored the Canes 16-6; with 9 of those points coming off of 3 three’s from Mike Olds in the final minute including a buzzer beater, to send the Knights to the locker rooms with a 22-14 lead. The Knights continued the strong effort in the third quarter as they built their lead to 35-22. The Knights defense again held in the final quarter and the visitors walked away with a nice 49-33 FAVCC road victory.
Michael Olds became the sixth Knight to lead the team in scoring this season as he finished with 15 points, 9 coming on the aforementioned 3-threes in the second quarter and a perfect 6 for 6 from the Charity Stripe. Spencer Berlekamp finished in double-digits as well with 10. Kevin Hopperton, Hunter Jones and Brooks Gear each tossed in 5 for the Knights. Andrew Winebrenner chipped in 4, while Nick Shakelford contributed 3. Stephen Boster rounded out the scoring with 2. The Knights finished 13-22 (59%) from the line while Wilmington was connecting on 5 of 13 chances for 38%.
After a few days off for Christmas, the Knights (7-1, 3-1) will travel to southern Ohio on Thursday for a battle with the Ironmen of Jackson High School, best known for being the alma mater of Coach Stevens. Tip-off for the JV Game will be 6:30PM. Go Knights!
- Scooter Knight
December 14, 2007
League rival Turpin invaded the K-House, on Friday evening, to challenge the Knights. The Knights were ready for the battle and there was plenty of fan support out early for the Knights.
The Knights jumped out a 14-7 first quarter lead and continued to play strong defense in the second quarter which allowed Kings to hold a nice 13-point lead as both teams retired to the locker rooms. The Knight defense completely shut down the Spartan offense, limited them to one point on a late free throw, as the home team built widened their lead to 35-16. The final quarter was more even, but by then the outcome was not in doubt as the Knights recorded an impressive 20-point victory, 42-22.
Andrew Winebrenner led the Knight scoring with 9 points. Tyler Smyth chipped in 7 while Mike Olds and Brooks Gear were each dropping in 6. Kevin Hopperton chipped in 4 for the team in white. Stephen Boster and Nick Shackelford each tossed in 3. Spencer Berlekamp and Matt Rumelhart, making his first appearance in several weeks following an ankle injury, each poured in 2. The Knights connected on 9 of their 16 opportunities from the Charity Stripe (56%), while the Spartans shot 50% while going 3 for 6.
The Knights (6-1, 2-1) will travel to Clinton County next Friday evening, following a week of Final Exams, to take on the Hurricane of Wilmington in a FAVCC clash. Tip-off for the JV Game will be at approximately 6 PM. Go Knights!
- Scooter Knight
December 11, 2007
The Battle of the Knights took place on Tuesday evening at the K-House as Northwest invaded Kings Mills. To add fairness to the contest, the last name of one of the referees was “Knight”. Unseasonably warm temperatures outside led to a “warm” atmosphere inside. The evening was made even more festive with the high school and junior high choir concert right next door in the auditorium.
Kings opened the game with a strong run and led 16-9 at the end of the first quarter. They continued to build the lead to 31-19 at the half. The play in the third quarter tightened up and became much more physical. After one of his players was taken to the floor by an obvious foul – except to the referees - Coach Poggi politely questioned the “non-call” and the referee politely gave him a Technical Foul. He spent the remainder of the game seated on the bench per the rules of basketball. Northwest narrowed the gap to 43-32 at the end of third quarter, but Kings responded to the challenge and took a 54-46 victory.
Tyler Smyth led the Knights with 19 points including three field goals from beyond the three-point arc. Hunter Jones chipped in 8. Michael Olds dropped in 7. Andrew Winebrenner contributed 6. Brooks Gear tossed in 5. Kevin Hopperton knocked down 3. Brian Howell, Spencer Berlekamp and Nick Shackelford each scored 2 to round out the Knight offense. Phil Fox was out due to illness. Matt Rumelhart continues to mend from an ankle injury and should return soon. The Knights of Kings Mills showed vast improvement from the Charity Stripe as they went 11 for 15 (73%) while the Knights of Northwest were tossing the ball up there 11 times while only being successful twice (18%). This 9 point difference was clearly the difference in the contest. Also helping the home team was 5 successful shots from beyond the 3-point line while Northwest did not score a bucket from behind the arc.
The Knights (5-1, 1-1) will stay home on Friday evening to host the Spartans of Turpin. Forget Xavier-UC, Duke-North Carolina, Michigan-Ohio State…its Kings – Turpin. What else really needs to be said? Always a great rivalry with great fan support for both schools. Come out early and take in the JV contest at 6PM. Go Knights!
- Scooter Knight
December 7, 2007
The Barons of Amelia flew into Kings Mills on Friday evening for a battle at the K-House. However, it was the Knights that came out flying in the first quarter as Coach Poggi went with a starting line-up of all juniors and then brought in a new and fresh group of sophomores midway through the quarter. Together, they jumped on the Barons early and often and took a 15-4 lead. Amelia was able to find some offense in the second quarter and played the Knights fairly even, but the home team still carried a 22-12 lead to the locker room.
The second half began with a Technical Foul on the Amelia Coach for not having one of his players properly entered into the scorebook. The Knights took advantage of this extra possession as they outscored the Barons, 16-8, and expanded their lead to 38-20. Both teams tossed in 15 points in the final quarter and the Knights took the victory, 53-35.
Hunter Jones led the Knights with 14 points. Tyler Smyth was right behind him with 13. Michael Olds chipped in 9 while Spencer Berlekamp drained in 5. Phil Fox and Brooks Gear each dropped in 4 while Andrew Winebrenner poured in 2. Brian Howell and Nick Shackelford each tossed in a point to round out the Knight scoring attack. The Knights finished 13 for 24 at the line (53%) while Amelia found the net 6 times in 14 attempts (42%). The Knights were also helped immensely by the efforts of Davis Jenkins, who was handling the Ball Boy duties this evening.
The Knights (4-1, 1-1) will stay home to participate in the “Battle of the Knights” as the Knights of Northwest visit on Tuesday evening. Last season’s match up with Northwest proved to be a classic game that will be talked about for years to come. The Knights of Kings found themselves down by 26 points early in the 3rd quarter, but came back to win by 2. Will this season’s match up be as exciting? We’ll find out on Tuesday night starting at 6 PM. Go Knights!
- Scooter Knight
December 4, 2007
A longtime backyard rivalry was renewed on Tuesday evening as the Knights traveled to Loveland to meet the Tigers. Many years of elementary and jr. high contests have fueled this match up. Speaking of many years - the old scoreboard from the historic and recently renovated Branch Hill School in Loveland now hangs on the wall of the gymnasium at Loveland High School. It looked like something out of the movie, “Hoosiers”.
The first nine points were tossed in by #32 as Kings #32 led Loveland’s #32, 5-4. Kings held on to that one point lead as the quarter finished with the visitors on top 12-11. Tenacious defensive pressure by the Knights and the resulting Loveland turnovers allowed Kings to take a 10-point lead to the locker room. The Tigers closed the gap in the third quarter, but the Knights would respond and closed out the frame with that same ten point margin, at 37-27. The final quarter saw the Tigers again try to mount a comeback, but the Knights fended off the Tiger challenge and came away with a 49-39 victory.
Spencer Berlekamp led the Knights with 17 points. Andrew Winebrenner tossed in 9 points with all of them coming in the first half. Tyler Smyth knocked down 8 and Phil Fox tossed in 6. Hunter Jones registered 5 points, while Brian Howell and Michael Olds were each tossing in two as they rounded out the Knight scoring. The Knights won the game at the line by outscoring the Tigers by 9. Kings finished 15 for 24 (63%) while Loveland was 6 for 9 (67%).
The Knights (3-1, 0-1) will return to FAVC Cardinal Division action and to the K-House, on Friday evening, as they host the Barons of Amelia. Tip off will be at 6 PM. Go Knights!
- Scooter Knight
November 30, 2007
The historic gymnasium of Walnut Hills High School was the site of the Knights opening FAVC Cardinal Division battle on Friday evening. The “Nut House” received a recent coat of paint to its walls and bleachers along with new banners on the walls.
The first 7 points of the contest were all tallied by free throws as the Knights jumped out to an early 5-2 lead. The referees’ whistles were kept warm as Walnut Hills was shooting in the bonus before the first quarter ended as they took a 13-11 lead to the bench. The Eagles continued to soar in the second quarter as they outscored the Knights 12-6 and took a 25-18 lead to the quaint locker rooms. The Knights came storming out in the third quarter outscoring the Eagles 15-8, which included Tyler Smyth’s trey that knotted the score at 33 as the horn sounded. A hard fought final quarter was played, but the Knights found themselves down by 3 as the clock ticked to zero. Their 3-point shot at the buzzer fell just short and the Knights were on the short end of a final 47-44 score.
Tyler Smyth led the Knights by tossing in 12 points, all of which came in the third quarter on five field goals including two long distance dedications from behind the three point arc. Spencer Berlekamp nailed 8 and Phil Fox dialed in 6. Andrew Winebrenner threw in 5 while Michael Olds and Hunter Jones, who was seeing his first action of the season, each fired in 4. Kevin Hopperton contributed 3 and Brian Howell rounded out the Knight scoring with 2. Kings finished 8 for 14 from the line for 57% while Walnut Hills concluded the evening by going 9 for 21 (43%).
The Knights (2-1, 0-1) will renew their backyard rivalry on Tuesday evening as they travel over to Loveland for a battle with the Tigers. Tip off will be at 6 PM. Go Knights!
- Scooter Knight
November 27, 2007
The Knight’s JV Boys Basketball Team continued their season opening home stand as the Eagles of Milford flew into the K-House for a FAVC battle on Tuesday night. This is Milford’s first year as a
member of the FAVC Buckeye Division.
Milford opened a slim lead of 7-6 at the end of the first quarter with Phil Fox scoring all of the Knight’s points. The Knights were able to bounce back and gain a half-time lead of 17-14. Unselfish play and a nice 11-0 run to open the third quarter saw the mighty Knights outscore the Eagles 15-2 and take a 32-16 lead to the final quarter. Milford was not ready to throw in the towel quite yet and closed the gap slightly, but the Knights responded to the Eagle’s increased defensive intensity and took a 42-32 victory.
Phil Fox led the Knight scoring machine with 14 points including 6 in the opening quarter. Kevin Hopperton got in the double-digit scoring column with 10, while Tyler Smyth tossed in 8. Michael Olds, Spencer Berlekamp, Brian Howell, Nick Shackelford and Andrew Winebrenner each contributed a deuce. Matt Rumelhart yelled encouragement from the bench as he rehabs a high ankle sprain back to health. Coach Poggi will undoubtedly be spending some practice time on foul shooting this week as the Knights were a dismal 5 for 14 (35%) from the line while the Eagles scorched the nets at 62% by going 8 for 13.
The Knights (2-0) will continue with “Bird Week” as they hit the road for the first time this season and travel to Walnut Hills on Friday night to take on the always tough Eagles. Game time is 6 PM. Go Knights!
- Scooter Knight
